Chapter 13: Break.
"Pieck!" Reiner screamed when he felt her hand slip from his. When he looked she was on the ground, screaming in pain. The others stopped and turned.
"Shit!" Fynn cursed, glancing around. The Moonies and their iron titans were getting closer to them. "Shit!" He said again. Scooping Pieck up and continuing to run away. She moaned and whimpered as he jostled here, until they made it to the obscurity of the tent camp as more rounds sounded off behind them.
Fynn put the little girl down on her stomach, the length of the wooden stake exposed to everyone to see. Hesitantly, Fynn reached out to touch it but as soon as he did she released a choked scream muddled by the mud. Fuck, he couldn't do this now.
"three minutes." Reiner said suddenly
Fynn's head snapped towards him, "Huh?"
"I counted. 5 rounds, one from each one of those things. 3 minuets to reload, give or take."
Fynn bit his lip and nodded, before looking at his watch and setting a timer, "So we have about 2 now." He clicked the watch's button down and it started.
"I keep a medical bag in my tent." Pieck wheezed out, "If someone can get that, I can get treatment. Like morphine…" She was quiet then if not for her heavy breathing, and Reiner reached out to grab her hand again to maybe provide some comfort.
"Ok, where's that?"
Before anyone could answer, Fynn's watch went off. They braced themselves for the first round, which started a few seconds after the alarm. Fynn tried to protect as many of them as he could with his body, but the round didn't hit close to them.
"I'll go." Porco said after it hit, "I know where it is! I'm the fastest runner, I'll only take a second."
"Wait!" Reiner called as Porco moved to get up, "Not now, wait till it's over!"
Porco glared at him, but Reiner could see he was trembling, "No, we need to use that time to run away."
Annie stood up too, and the second round rocked the ground. She stumbled on her feet, "Like hell you're the fastest runner. I beat you in every race, we'll both go. You cover me." Porco was about to squawk something in protest, but she was already running to the tent. He had no choice but to follow her.
Reiner clenched his fists, he was such a coward. His friends were putting their life on the line while he sat around and did nothing. He was about to stand to run after them, but stopped when Pieck's hand tightened around him.
"Please don't leave me too…" She whimpered. Reiner shared a look with Bertolt across her body. He nodded and reached for her other hand.
"I won't" Reiner stole a glance at her wound, and saw most of her thigh had already turned red.
As soon as the other two returned Fynn opened up the medkit and got out the morphine syringe. At the very least Pieck wouldn't have to be in pain, even if this all goes wrong.
"Reiner, Bertolt!" Fynn barked while he injected her, "Make sure she stays alert and look out for signs of sho-" The fifth round went off a little bit away. Without hesitating, Fynn picked the girl up again and took off.
Fynn got them a ways away from the action, but they were much more exposed than he would have liked. He hoped they just faded into the background of the battle, although he was rarely that lucky.
He knew that in a normal situation it would be bad to remove something impaling someone, especially since he had no idea if the stake had punctured her femoral artery. He eased her back down on her stomach, and realized even more blood had spread from the wound. He winced, that run definitely didn't help.
"Ok, ok-." Fuck! Fynn stopped himself from saying aoud, he forgot the med kit. He fervently ran his hands through his slicked back hair in an effort to calm himself. Thick clotted blood and dirt discolored his ginger hair. Quickly, he shrugged off his bombers jacket and pulled off his cotton shirt before handing it to the person closest to Pieck: Reiner. "I'm gonna have to pull it out now. As soon as I do, be ready to apply pressure with that."
Reiner was pale, but he nodded. Fynn turned his attention to the others, "Everyone else…please keep her still." He picked up a slightly dirty but thick stick off the ground and held it to Pieck's mouth. "You ready?"
Pieck was panting, her eyes were half lidded, her skin was clammy and pale- not good signs but the morphine should have helped with the pain. She looked at Fynn and nodded, opening her mouth and biting down on the stick.
Fynn sat on her legs to keep her still while Bertolt and Annie held her arms down. He would try to make it fast. "3…2…" He didn't finish his countdown, and instead wrenched the wood from her without warning. Reiner was ready to press into the wound immediately. Peick jolted and screamed, but not much more.
Fynn looked back at Reiner, "Do not let up the pressure." he said before, gently turning her over, supporting her legs, "Keep her legs up, make sure that wound is above her heart." Once she was on her back her breathing had markedly improved, but she remained pale and it was hard to tell if she was damp because of the wet mud or if something worse.
Bertolt moved to take Fynn's place holding Pieck's legs up while Reiner kept the pressure up. Fynn took the moment to shrug his jacket back on.
"Mr. Fynn!" Porco suddenly yelled and cut through his inner thoughts. Fynn's head shot up and realized he had somehow forgotten an entire battle was happening around them. Frantically, he looked around for anything dangerous.
Just a few feet from them, a stray grenade had landed. Without thinking, he grabbed it and ran far away from them, he wound back his arm to throw it clear. Just as the metal left his fingers-
'BOOM'
Fynn released an ear splitting scream. The Cadets turned and looked just in time to see his arm fly off to the right of him in a spray of blood and gore. Fynn fell on his knees, clutching uselessly at the stump. With numb fingers, he tried to use the tattered ends of his bombers jacket to stop the bloodflow. Or at least shield the children from having to see the viscera and bone that now hung from his bicep- it would all burn off soon anyway.
Damnit, what was the point of being able to regrow limbs if it still hurt so goddamn much!
When he came hobbling back, steam was already coming out of the wound like an angry tea kettle. It was hard for the Cadet's not to release a choked scream when he collapsed near them. "D-don't worry." He slurred as he adjusted his sitting position, "This happens to us warriors all the time. Seriously, just a normal t-tuesday."
"You don't look fine." Annie pointed out, a small quiver in her voice.
"Y-your right…" Fynn panted, "I look…fabulous."
The Cadet's stared at him with wide and confused eyes.
Fynn groaned, "You could at least pity laugh."
"U-Umm…" Reiner stuttered. He didn't speak, or couldn't speak. All he did was let one hand off Pieck's leg, and showed it to Fynn. It was coated with so much blood he couldn't see the scarred skin of his hands. The once white undershirt was crimson and dripping with red.
Fynn's face fell, "Oh shit."
Reiner's hands felt unbearably cold where Pieck's blood had touched it, even though it was still hot as it spilled from her live body. Pieck was always so warm and friendly towards everyone, it wasn't surprising even her blood would be warm.
"D-do you know how to fix a tourniquet?" Mr. Fynn was talking now, Reiner fought to pay attention to him and not Pieck's pale face or her blood seeping into the dirt.
He knew how, everyone was taught it. He also knew that in a situation like this, if you need to apply a tourniquet that probably means you'll lose the limb. If Pieck lost her leg, she couldn't be a Cadet anymore and her life would be over anyway. She would waste away in assisted living like his grandfather.
No, if it came to it he would take care of her… somehow.
"I do." Annie spoke first.
"Me too." Reiner quickly joined.
Fynn nodded, "good. You'll need some cloth and a strong stick…" He trailed off, Annie already stood to get it. Reiner asked Bertolt to take his place and ripped his sleeve off his shirt. Porco kneeled to help hold her steady.
Reiner worked with practiced ability as he easily tied the knot around Pieck's leg a few inches above the wound, making sure the stick was firmly in the knot. It was hard to see so much blood had obscured her leg. As Annie wrenched the stick in circles to cinch the strip of fabric tight enough to restrict her blood flow. Reiner tied it off when they thought it was tight enough. He did his best to clean the area, only a trickle of deep red blood oozed from the gash and Reiner bandaged that too.
Porco and Bertolt eased Pieck's legs on the ground, discarding the useless blood-logged rag. They propped her other leg up on a nearby rock.
They hung around her while they looked out to the field, watching for a lull in the action where they could continue their tregde. They would have to wait until Fynn's arm healed anyway, no one else was strong enough to carry Pieck. Normally, Reiner would have delighted in the pointless yet occupying task of being a lookout- but it was like all his strength had been sucked out of him.
Pieck was shivering and Fynn had given her what was left of his jacket to cover her. Her eyes were glazed over and unfocused, looking at something in the overcast sky. He wondered if she could see God- or whatever was up there. He didn't know anymore.
"R-Reiner…" She said in a husky and worn voice. Reiner leaned over and took her hand, like when a sick person was about to die. "My-my dad…I did something bad. I owe too much. I hate to ask, but when I'm gone can you help him? I just can't stand the thought of him going to the p-poor house…"
"W-what?" Reiner tried to smile, but the way his face contorted seemed unnatural somehow, "You're not gonna die. After so much, you can't just…"
"Please Reiner…don't argue with me. For once. Just… promise me, please."
"You're not going to die! Stop talking like that!" He shouted, loud enough to attract the attention of the others.
Her eyelids fluttered shut and her chest heaved, "Mama, I'm…cold.
Reiner shook her shoulders, "Peick! Pieck, you have to wake up! Stop being so lazy for once and wake up!" The world faded into static, but he was fairly certain someone, Annie or Porco maybe, dragged him away from her.
Reiner couldn't remember the last time he cried. Sometimes, he could feel tears start to collect but they just couldn't fall. He felt the familiar physiological reactions to crying, his throat would hurt for a moment or his chest would tighten, but it would usually pass soon after. He didn't cry when his grandfather was taken in front of him, when he watched that Marleyan get dragged away-who's name he had already forgotten even though he had promised himself he wouldn't- or even after killing that Camunni man that really wasn't minding anyone, only cold disappointment that he wasn't praised for his courageous act. He didn't even cry when he woke up from nightmares now.
It was like he had been empty for the longest time. Just like Pieck had said, he ran out of tears to shed over his unfortunate situation.
So it came even as a shock to him when it was suddenly uncontrollable. His head fell almost to his knees as his whole body shook with gasps and sobbs. Tears and snot trailed down his face and burned the small cuts and cracks on his skin before falling to the ground. One hand desperately tried to scrub at his face while the other stayed holding onto Pieck's hand. It was cold in contrast to his own, burning hot with grief.
It was the last time Reiner would cry, for a long, long time.
Distantly, he could hear the other's crying as well. Bertolt was never a quiet cryer, and while Reiner had never actually seen Porco cry it was still obvious. He didn't know if Annie was shading any tears for the friend, but he liked to assume so.
Despite himself, he still knew that danger was present. It was that feeling in his stomach like it was trying to eat itself, telling him to look up. What a useless skill, to know a danger that he couldn't do anything about.
He looked up to see the black maw of one of those metal titan's guns, maybe a hundred meters away.
It was a strange thought, but he wondered how they would bury Pieck. Would it be an open casket? Would they put vinyls in her mouth to hide the fact most of their baby teeth had been knocked out while they waited for their adult ones to come in? Would they blush her face so she looked alive again? Would she get a pretty dress, or would it be her father's hand-me-downs still?
No, that was a silly thought. There wouldn't be enough left to bring any of them back to Marley.
There was a familiar bang, but it was drowned out by a booming explosion with a brilliant flash of light and heat.
Reiner instinctively looked up as a great shadow obscured the world around him. He only had a moment to digest the image: a fleshless giant hunched over them with bulging blue eyes that moved to focus on him. Even though the monster was devoid of any skin, dark brown hair spilled to frame it's face and draped down its sides, making a perfect shelter from the outside world.
Reiner shielded his face when the world around him flashed white, and when he looked back up the monster was unmoving and seemed to have turned to crystal.
Jamie pulled herself from her titan just as it solidified around her and slid down it's crystalized back. She ran around the other side towards the Cadet's and Fynn.
By the time she made it around, Fynn was still staring reverently at her titan. When he saw her, it looked like he was on the verge of tears and Jamie noticed he was missing an arm.
"Jamie!" He exclaimed, "Boy, am I glad to see you. Seriously, I could marry you right now."
"Try to get all the injured to my titan and direct the medics here as well! Reinforcements are coming from a nearby base any moment now, keep them alive till then!" She barely slowed down to shout her commands before running headfirst back into the fray.
Fynn balked, "Wait, where are you going?! You can't do 2 transformations at once!"
Jamie paid him no mind as she ran, glancing at Annabelle ripping one of the strange armored vehicles in half. Her head was light and her footfalls were heavy against the slippery ground. A trail of blood ran from her nose, and she quickly swiped it away and wiped it on her blouse.
'I saved some energy by manifesting my titan without any armor. I think I can pull off one full one, just long enough to win this!'
In her periphery, she could see the Jaws running at her at full speed. Locking eyes with it, she nodded. After ten years of fighting together, they didn't need to say anything. Just as Jamie lept off the broken remains of an armored vehicle, Annabelle grabbed her and threw her.
Soaring over the enemy, just as she felt herself being taken by gravity she bit through her lip. The rush of power like lightning through her veins was immediate as she was consumed by flesh.
Reiner started at the Armored Titan as it made it's ceaseless march across the battlefield, leaving only destruction in its wake. Reiner wondered when, or if, it would stop. Or if it would march all the way to the Capital of the Camunni Colonies.
Reiner had only seen it's face for a moment when it had glanced back to look behind it. Or her, as Reiner had to remind himself, Mrs. Jamie was still in there although the face gave none of her features away. Like her entire body, her face was protected by a dark chestnut colored visor that melded seamlessly to the wild mane of hair that reached down to her lower back. The lower half of her face was all exposed, angry red muscle and lips that turned down into a disapproving frown, the only thing that reminded Reiner of Mrs. Jamie. Her eyes were obscured by a clear film of hardening, and in that fleeting moment where her face was shadowed against the slowly lowering sun behind her, Reiner saw they glowed a ghostly blue.
There was no skin at all on her body, only the dark colored armor that seemed to overlap and slide together and the tendons that attached them. Even over the din of the battle, a loud grinding noise accompanied her footsteps as her segmented breastplates ground and wore against each other. Each step was mechanical and measured, limited by hip guards and kneecaps.
He frowned when he noticed something strange about her hair: it was completely still no matter how she moved. When she looked down at the ants crawling around her feet, it rose with her, like the doll completely molded in plastic Gabi played with so she wouldn't ruin real hair. It was so big that it completely obscured her androgenous form from behind. Reiner could see artillery connect with it and blow chunks off, only to be replaced moments later with more hair. He realized it was made of armor too.
Fynn had come back from telling all the medics Jamie's orders and knelt down to check Pieck's pulse. He sighed in relief, "Good, as long as reinforcements come soon she'll probably have a chance." He glanced around and realized none of them were listening, all watching the Armored Titan's macabre parade. There were some things in life that never ceased to amaze him: His own titans size, The Armored's unflinching power, The Jaw's speed and agility, The Female's grace, and the pure ugliness of the Cart titan.
He could see Jamie stop, she was not much more than a silhouette in the distance now. "Do you know why Jamie is considered special, even for the Armor?" He was only distantly aware he was talking now, looking sadly in the distance, caught up in memories.
"It seemed insignificant at the time, even as a detriment, just a small mutation. Unlike past Armors, her Armor isn't made from hardened skin- but from hair and body hair. In a way, she's Marley's shield and it's sword." It was a novel idea at the time, armor made from fibers. It got some of the thinky types at HQ trying to make something similar, eventually creating modern flak jackets.
They watched her silhouette stop and raise both hands, a cloud dust blowing in the wind as she shed her armor. Reaching behind her, she broke off locks of hair that ended in deadly points like quills. She threw them, and they soared through the air before embedding themselves in the ground meters deep. Fynn assumed that was where the Moonie encampment lay.
Reiner barely registered Fynn's words, focusing on the sight before him. Never, in all the sermons, prayers, and New Year's masses had he felt closer to God than he was now.
"Look, Pieck." he found himself whispering, "Have you ever seen anything so amazing?"
The cadets kept vigil with Pieck as reinforcements from the nearby base came to give care to the wounded. Some fighters came as well, but they were really only used for body recovery. The fight was long over long before they arrived, with Jamie cutting a swath through their forces and Annabelle tearing through enemies like they were nothing more than meat. Reiner supposed they weren't.
"Are you the one that gave her treatment?" One of the doctors asked Reiner and Bertolt. They were the only ones with Pieck, sitting curled into themselves on the cold wet ground and dully watched as the man tended to Pieck. Porco and Annie had left to get food, for once Porco didn't pitch a fit about it.
"Huh?" Reiner asked, only half paying attention, "Oh, yeah." The doctor nodded and wrote something down before standing.
"You did good work, she'll be fine. She just needs lots of rest and to take it easy on that leg. Tell one of us when she wakes up so we can free the bed for someone else."
Reiner's head snapped up at his words and gaped at the man. It was dark in the shadow of the Armored Titan, obscuring the man's face from Reiner's scrutiny. He couldn't be serious, "What!?" He squawked before he could catch himself, "You can't say that she just has to get up and get back to work! Peick almost died!"
The doctor's face remained placid and calm, and Reiner was reminded of how useless it was to complain to these people. He was suddenly painfully aware of how powerless he was when no one cared about him or his friends. "This is war, Cadet Braun. That is the protocol, and we cannot make exceptions"
The doctor left soon after to attend to other people. Pieck's eyes fluttered open and peered lazily at them. Before she could speak, Reiner moved like he was checking her forehead and kelt his face down close to hers. "Pieck." He whispered, "Please just go to sleep a little while longer and don't make a sound. Not 'till you feel better."
He pulled away and tried to keep his face calm. Pieck looked confused at him, but she had learned long ago to trust Reiner's instincts when it came to things like this. Her eyes closed again, and Reiner got up to grab her a glass of water while Bertolt kept watch.
None of them were able to keep the peaceful routine long, and they were soon set to work collecting the dogtags off bodies. It was messy work, but it wasn't something Reiner was unfamiliar with.
What he was unfamiliar with was the carnage, bodies turned to paste under the treads of those Camunni Armored Vehicles- as Reiner learned they were called. The cold of the past few days kept the bodies from decaying too much, but it didn't make the work much cleaner.
Reiner stooped down to reach for what was left of a man's neck. His fingers sunk into what was left of the man, like over tenderized raw meat. Eventually his fingers found the rough texture of a chain and he was able to pull it out with little resistance. There was not much of the former-man's neck left.
It was hard to call them human anymore.
He continued like that, some men had no dog tags and he had assumed someone else had picked them up. Strangely enough it was always the less mutilated bodies. One of the other soldiers mentioned that Moonies like to take dog tags of the soldiers they kill. They effectively erased their identities that way, without their dogs tags they most likely will never be found and their families are doomed to always wonder what had happened to their son. To their Giuseppe, who may as well have gone up in smoke one mundane afternoon.
With a hint of irony, Reiner couldn't help but think that they just…disappeared.
"What are you smiling at, Cadet?!" Somebody barked at him. Reiner slowly turned his attention away from the bloody dog tag that glinted and glistened dully in the sun to that same Marleyan that had made such a big deal about a couple of ration bars. That same man now looked at Reiner with a mix of fear and disgust. Reiner glanced back around their surroundings, and he definitely could understand why. Everything around him was so terrible and so disgusting.
Reiner had collected quite a few dog tags that now hung limply in his bloody grip. He made his way towards the crystalline Armored Titan that rose in the distance where they had made their base. Before he gave them to a record keeper he went to see Pieck, and almost collapsed when he saw her gone. He frantically looked around for any sign of her, and sighed in relief when he saw her next to one of the men with a crushed leg.
Pieck sat next to him with her leg splayed out away from her and a wooden crutch to her side. She was focused on her work, straightening out the unconscious man's leg best she could and wrapping it with clean bandages. It was as if the leg itself had exploded outward, blown apart to reveal bone, muscle and veins. They both knew the leg would probably have to go once infection set in, it seemed useless to try to help him.
Pieck blinked when she felt someone watching her and turned quickly to see Reiner staring at her. He was covered in blood, and Pieck took some comfort in knowing it wasn't his own. She shielded her eyes against the setting sun, but his face was still obscured by the shadow of the Armored Titan.
"Reiner…"
"Do you ever think it's useless to help these people? Like, it would almost be kinder to just let them die. I used to think that's dumb, but I don't really know anymore"
Pieck turned her gaze back to the man and continued to wrap the leg. She was silent for a long time while she thought, but she knew Reiner was patient enough to wait for an answer. "Sometimes I do, I try not to but it's impossible not to think about. I think that the world is a big place, and we are very small in the grand scheme of things, so all we really can do is try our best. I will keep on trying my best to help people, because that's all we really have. Not just as Eldians but as humans."
"But when do you draw the line between human and meat? Is a human that will be meat in a day really that different from one that is meat now? I can't really believe it."
Strangely, Pieck smiled, "Maybe, but I just can't accept that. I have to believe life has meaning, because how can I say my life has meaning if none of these do?"
"I…don't know."
"That's okay. Neither do I."
Jamie groaned when she dragged herself up in bed, looking around the dark tent to get her barinings. Across the space, Annabelle sat hunched against the wall, softly snoring. Jamie decided to let her be, dragging herself up on shaky legs to see what was happening outside.
A few trucks pulled up, and she saw the other warriors get out of them. Gideon didn't pay anyone else much mind as he set himself to directing orders to the small press junket that had followed him from Leon.
As soon as Fae stepped out of the truck she ran to her brother, immediately pulling him in a hug. She pulled away to get a good look at him, "Have you even bathed yet?! You smell like shit!" Despite her words, she smiled fondly and reached up to tossel the caked blood and dirt out of his hair. Fynn sheepishly shrugged.
When Fae spotted her, she also rushed over to Jamie to hug her with Fynn in toe. Jamie awkwardly patted her back.
"I heard what happened, Mrs. Hero. Two transformations if a row is pretty impressive, you know, for you."
"How long has it been since I left Leon?"
Fae blinked, "I don't know, four days or so?"
Jamie hummed a response. She had been asleep for four days, far too long. She would have to work on her endurance, five years ago that would only put her out a day. Then again, there was no helping getting old.
"Has anything happened since then?" She asked Fynn.
Before he could answer, Fae had put the pieces together, "Wait, so you've been asleep this whole time!? I take back what I said, that's pretty wimpy."
They ignored her, "Nothing much, just clean up and recovery." Fynn answered.
Jamie nodded, before turning and walking towards where her titan loomed in the distance. Fae sputtered, "Hey, wait! Don't go overdoing yourself, you old hag!"
Marcel and Zeke returned from Leon, along with the Warriors and a press team. Reiner honestly didn't care much about any of that, he was just glad his friends were safe. He did distantly realize he probably should be more excited about the news team. What better way to get recognition than to speak with people from the press?
Still, Reiner found himself inexplicably repulsed by their presence.
Magath had arrived as well around the same time as the press junket. He did not speak to the Cadets for a while, and spent most of his time with the warriors and higher ups. The only time Reiner saw him for the following week while they were in Cambrai was when he suddenly sought Reiner and Bertolt out specifically.
With little fanfare, right in their too small tent all the Cadet's had to share, he presented them with blue cross metals.
"Awarded for a non-medic giving lifesaving treatment to a comrade in an active battlefield. Congratulations."
Reiner shuddered at the memory it represented, and was tempted to throw it back in the man's face. Instead, he saluted and gave Magath his most sincere and deepest thanks that wasn't very sincere or very deep.
As soon as Magath left, Porco yelled at Reiner and Bertolt for it. "You sold us out! You took all the credit because you knew it would make you look better! You bastard!"
Reiner held the metal out to him, "Do you want it? You got the med kit, it's only fair."
Porco gaped at him and then the outstretched palm. He grit his teeth and scoffed, harshly knocking the metal to the floor. "It's not the same and you know it." he bit out before leaving.
When no one moved to pick it up, Marcel knelt down to get it. He held it out to Reiner, "I'm sorry about him. Here, you should keep it. You deserve it." Marcel gave him a hesitant smile that fell when Reiner didn't return it. "Right, well, I should go after him."
Reiner turned his attention back to Betolt, who wept as he held the metal to his heart. All while Pieck slept soundly behind them.
It soon became obvious Magath was doing them a mercy by presenting their awards in such a candid manner. Those men from the The Maritimes prowled around camp like a pack of wolves, waiting to gouge out trauma and pain from anyone they came across- that was how Zeke said it at least. Zeke took great strides to avoid them at all costs, and the kids instinctively followed his lead.
Reiner watched from afar as they set up cameras to document the carnage, and took enough photos of the Armored Titan at every and any time of day to fill a photobook alone. One time he was careless and one took a photo of him looking languidly at a dog tag hanging from one hand and his rifle in his other, all on a backdrop of death and destruction. It was one of those photos you can't read an opinion piece on the war without seeing- unless the opinion was that the war was good, then they would use one of the photos they took of the Armored Titan.
When Reiner expressed his great worry of what would happen to Zeke, the older boy merely scoffed. "Don't worry, if it ever got out it would be outlawed in an hour flat." Despite his confidence, he also told Reiner and everyone else to never, ever talk to the press without a commander present.
So, they all spent their time in seclusion. When the team came to the tent camp to conduct interviews, they ran to find themselves a new hiding spot. They found a small, muddy imprint in the ground, a footprint from the Jaws, where Zeke was already sitting.
He had a small bag of tobacco that he claimed to have gotten legitimately from the now-destroyed Officer's club. He had taken his unloaded rifle and jammed a few of the leaves in the chamber, lit on fire and closed the bolt.
"I always wondered what that was like." Porco said as Zeke wrapped his mouth around the barrel, "Mom smokes a lot, but it's not cus' she's addicted, she just wants to lose weight." He clarified.
Zeke held the gun out, a small stream of smoke trailing from the muzzle. "Go ahead, you only live once. If that."
"Porco, I don't think-" Marcel tried to protest, but that just seemed to spur Porco on more. He didn't even take a full inhale before he started hacking. The others chuckled awkwardly, like they were forcing themselves.
Porco grinned, "Hey Reiner, I dare you to try!"
Reiner blinked, "Me?"
"Unless you're too chicken." Porco smirked, making Reiner bristle.
"No! And I'll do way more than you!" Reiner snatched the rifle, hesitating a moment.
"What's wrong, scared?"
"No, I just don't want all your gross germs." Gingerly, Reiner put his mouth over the muzzle and inhaled. He coughed so hard he almost vomited. However, he still smiled as he wiped a small trail of spit from his mouth and handed the gun to Pieck, who quickly passed it on to Annie.
"ZEKE! Come here for a moment, bring the other's too!" They perked up when they heard someone call to them. Reiner looked behind him and could barely make out the silhouette of a short, somewhat round man with a swollen face and round glasses that glinted in the waning sun.
Zeke sighed as he took the gun back and set it aside. "Coming, Mr. Ksaver!"
They trudged back to camp to see two warriors with a cameraman. The warrior that called out to them waved them over, while Warchief Werner stood back with a stern look on his face.
"We just want a shot of all the cadets together for the front page, something to make the civilians feel good about all this." Mr. Ksaver explained with a smile on his face. Reiner decided he didn't trust him.
"Alright then." Zeke corralled the kids around him, and knelt down to their level. Like the perfect big brother.
"Everyone, big smiles!" The cameraman called before kneeling and hiding himself behind a veil to look through the lens.
Reiner didn't want to smile, he didn't feel there was much to smile for. And when he did try to smile, it usually didn't come across right, with his broken and crooked teeth.
He felt a hand on his shoulder, and from the corner of his eye he could see it was Zeke.
"Come on, Reiner." He said through strained and gritted teeth, "No one likes a Debbi Downer."
Reiner quickly got over his fears.